Panadol, a brand of acetaminophen, is widely used for pain relief and fever control in adults and children. Panadol is available in oral form as well as suppository form for patients unable to orally ingest the medication. It should be noted, however, that it is usually well-tolerated orally. Panadol can have a few untoward side effects, some of them irreversible and lethal.
Liver Damage :
As outlined by the Merck Manuals Online Medical Library, an overdose of acetaminophen can cause drug-induced liver damage. In fact, Panadol is considered a common cause of liver injury in the United States. In toxic doses, it causes direct injury to liver cells. This manifests in the beginning as nausea, fatigue, weakness, and pain in the upper-right side of the abdomen---the liver's anatomical location. This may be followed by yellowish discoloration of the skin and eyes. The risk of liver damage increases with intake of alcohol. Merck Manuals notes that this damage to the liver may be fatal and patients are candidates for liver transplantation if the antidote, a drug called N-acetylcysteine, fails.
Kidney Damage:
The Merck Manuals also describes possible damage to the kidneys as one of the potential side effects of long-term use of acetaminophen. Kidney damage due to this disease is referred to as analgesic nephropathy. Analgesic nephropathy is responsible for about 3 to 5 percent of cases of renal failure in the United States. Patients may complain of back pain, pain in their side and bloody or cloudy urine. When the condition is identified early and the intake of pain-relieving drugs is stopped, the course of the disease can be halted and the patient improves. Analgesic nephropathy also places the patient at a greater risk for urinary tract cancers.
Other Side Effects :
MayoClinic.com describes skin rashes, redness, hives and itching as potential side effects of Panadol. Some patients also experience fever and sore throat as a side effect as well. It may also rarely cause ulcers and sores in and around the mouth.
